A new podcast series by the Financial Times. Unfortunately they turn to David Gems for a lot of input, probably the most conservative, plodding and skeptical Longevity researcher in the world.
Podcast:
https://www.ft.com/content/a33d20fc-c4b5-4790-8f8c-5877f65d4bca
Transcript:
https://www.ft.com/content/11e797f7-d6e0-43b2-8fec-85748f2f5a35
You want to hear what the skeptics say to see whether something is real good.
A new podcast has dropped
Does Singapore have the blueprint for a longer, healthier life?
transcript
Boyang Wang Oh, we have no idea. Actually the definition of human life will be subject to questions like our intellectual being might surpass our biological body. That’s one possibility. We have a portfolio company that’s working on very bold direction of creating brainless clones.
Michael Peel Brainless clones? What does Wang mean by that?
Boyang Wang This was inspired by a natural condition called hydraencephaly. Hydraencephaly is a disease where the infant is born but the cerebral cortex is not developed. Instead you have spinal fluid there. So that infant can chew, they can swallow, they can function, but they can never develop consciousness or any advanced brain function. So if we can trigger this artificially in the future, it might become a backup body for yourself. Imagine if we can do a brain transplant. Then this new body can become our second home. Michael Peel So it’s important to say here that, as Wang acknowledges, this idea of what he calls a brainless clone goes well beyond current scientific consensus. But the premise is potentially transformative. Could we create a body without a fully functioning brain? And then could we, in theory, do a brain transplant — not something that exists yet, I should add — to give you a new body when you grow old. It’s all pretty, well, mind-blowing stuff. But there’s a somewhat simpler reason too for Singapore’s appeal to the international longevity community: the country is grappling with both an ageing population and a declining birth rate.
https://www.ft.com/content/65dae18e-7732-43b8-ac75-7f8b6612b4bf
Mentioned in the podcast (interviews with founders):
New Episode (#3):
Gene and stem cell therapies have been touted as the next phase in the longevity movement, with promises to rejuvenate the body at the cellular level and reverse the effects of ageing. But, as the prospect of life extension moves into the mainstream, it presents big questions for society as a whole. Are we ready for a world where people live much longer lives? In this final episode, the FT’s Michael Peel and Hannah Kuchler dive into the tough moral questions at the heart of the longevity movement. Hannah speaks to the team at Fountain Life, a longevity clinic trying to bring stem cell therapy to the middle classes. We meet Daniel Ives, founder of gene therapy company Shift Bioscience, and Liz Parrish, who has self-experimented with gene therapies through her company, Biovia. Finally, Michael speaks to Arthur Caplan, the head of the ethics board of longevity fund, Hevolution.
https://www.ft.com/content/be823ab9-9936-43f6-b187-757c314b833fs